


Undisclosed Desires (Muse, 2011)

by MarmeLady_Orange



Series: MAGNET HEARTS [13]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Childhood Friends, Drinking, Drunk Castiel, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Castiel/Dean Winchester, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, Jealous Castiel, Jealousy, M/M, Set in 2011, Suspicions, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-03
Updated: 2016-01-03
Packaged: 2018-05-11 12:37:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5626957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarmeLady_Orange/pseuds/MarmeLady_Orange
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Had Castiel learned about Nick Munroe from Dean himself, he probably wouldn’t have thought he was being cheated on. But when Charlie mentions him and how wonderful Nick is, Castiel’s imagination quickly gets the best of him. What is it they say? Once a cheater, always a cheater?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Undisclosed Desires (Muse, 2011)

“Who?”

As she chewed on her mouthful of arugula, Charlie lifted an inquisitive eyebrow at Castiel. She quickly swallowed, her brows furrowed.

“Nick… Nick Munroe? Dean has to have mentioned him. He’s the new you.”

“What do you mean, the new–”

“The new copywriter? Dean never really got along with anyone since you left. Until Nick, that is.”

Ignoring the anxiety building up in his gut, Castiel tried to think back to the last weeks. Maybe Dean did say something about it and Cas just forgot. Yeah, that had to be it.

“I’m telling you, everyone who’s a tiny bit into men just finds every excuse in the book to take a peak in that office. Man, those idiots are handsome. And they know it too.”

Charlie looked back at her friend to see him with a sour expression on his face. “Not that you weren’t handsome… what I mean is– ” She stopped when Castiel’s expression only got worse. “I’m sorry, I’m just… I’m gonna shut up now.”

“How long has he been working there?”

“Cas…”

“How long, Charlie?”

“I don’t know, three or four months.” The redhead’s shoulders slumped. “No more than six, that I’m pretty sure.”

“Six fucking months? You’re telling me this guy, who’s apparently all sorts of awesome, has been working with my boyfriend for half a year and no one’s ever bothered to tell me?”

“Cas, it’s just work. So what if they get along?” Even though Charlie knew Dean would rather die than hurt Cas ever again, she could understand why her friend would be freaking out. “I know what you’re thinking, but I assure you, there’s nothing going on.”

“Maybe there’s nothing now, but there has to be a reason why Dean didn’t tell me about him. He must be thinking about it.”

“You guys have been together for over three years now. Dean loves you.”

Castiel huffed, doubtful. “What is it they say? Once a cheater, always a cheater?”

“Castiel Shurley, you’re being totally unfair.” Charlie’s anger startled Castiel. “As far as I know, the only time Dean’s ever cheated was when he got with you behind Lisa’s back. And how dare you think less of him because of that, you’re just as guilty as him.”

“I know but– ”

“I’m not done! I love the both of you, you know that. And if I knew that either one was doing anything to fuck it all up again, I’d beat up their ass back into next week. Now I want you to be an adult and talk to Dean tonight without going all moody and putting a dent in your relationship.”

Castiel observed his friend as she (violently) stabbed some chopped veggies with her fork. The irate look she gave him when he opened his mouth to respond was enough to make him reconsider.

“I don’t ever wanna hear that you guys broke up, you hear me? And certainly not over your poor communication skills.”

“But what if– ”

“No ifs, nor buts,” Charlie warned, pointing a menacing finger at him. “Talk it out, don’t sulk.”

Defeated, Castiel nodded. “You’re right… but there has to be a reason he didn’t say anything, right?”

A weak smile appeared on Charlie’s face. “Of course there has to be. But I really think he might have and you just forgot about it.”

“I doubt it but yeah, who knows… maybe that’s what happened.” Castiel grabbed Charlie’s hand, squeezing it gently. “Thanks, Char… I’m sorry, didn’t mean to go all crazy.”

“Nah, don’t worry, Cas. I get it… It’s not like you guys have the best of history. But that’s all in the past, right? You’re not constantly holding that old stuff over his head, are you?”

Castiel shrugged, a bit of heat on his cheeks. “I try not to, I really do. But… like you said, our history is kinda fucked up. There’s always this nagging feeling that he’s right about to leave me, that he can’t do the together forever thing. Or worse, just can’t do it with me.”

“Together forever is never a guarantee, Cas. All you can do is work at it and hope for the best.”

Charlie dropped her fork in her plate, sadness clouding her features. At the sight, Castiel’s heart dropped, only now remembering the reason he had insisted on meeting his friend for lunch.

“Shit, I’m sorry Charlie. How are you holding up?”

“I’m good, Cas. Don’t worry about me. You wanted to take my mind off of things, and you did.” She let out a small laugh but it couldn’t hide the tears welling up in her eyes. “What better than someone else’s drama to take the focus off your own, am I right?”

“Charlie, come to dinner tonight, all right? I owe you a drama free meal.”

The redhead’s laugh sounded less bitter this time. “Like there’s not gonna be any drama at your place tonight? May I remind you that you gotta talk to Dean?”

“You said it: No sulking, just two adults talking. But that conversation can wait until later, or even tomorrow.”

“I’m not letting you use my broken engagement as an excuse for putting this off, Cas. Deal with your stuff, then you can help me deal with mine if you really want to.”

As she said that, Charlie rose from her chair and slung her messenger bag over her shoulder.

“I still wanna know how it goes though. Send me a text or something?” she asked, bending down to kiss Castiel on the cheek. “Talk to you later. And thanks for lunch,” she added as she walked out without looking back.

 

~ • ~

 

When Dean walked into their apartment that night, it was to find the lights dimmed and Castiel’s favorite baroque playlist echoing from the living room.

“Babe?” he called, a little worried about Castiel’s mood. Whenever Cas broke out the church music – or so Dean called it –, it usually meant a whole lot of moping was involved. “Babe? Are you okay?”

When Castiel spoke, his speech was slow and suspiciously slurry. “Where the fuck were you? You’re late!”

Dean dropped his keys and wallet on the entryway table before going to join his boyfriend. He found Cas in the living room, lying down on the couch with an almost empty bottle of Jack in his hand.

“Sorry I’m late… you know how summer months can get busy.” Dean said as he pushed Cas’ legs to sit next to him. “What happened, babe? Is everything all right?”

Castiel chuckled. “Oh, I’m sure you hate working late with your new boyfriend,” he spat, curling his fingers around every other word.

“My new boyfriend?”

“I hear he’s very pretty.”

“Cas, babe… you’re not making any sense. What the hell are you talking about?”

Had he been sober, Castiel would have noticed the frustrated edge in his boyfriend’s tone.

“The oh-so-handsome Nick Munroe. The guy you never told me about. How long have you been fucking him?”

Gobsmacked, Dean could only reply with a dimwitted “Huh?”.

“Again with the dummy act. I know, all right? Charlie told me everything.”

This time, Dean didn’t even try answering. Instead, he got up and grabbed his phone to call their friend.

“Hey, Dean,” Charlie answered right after the first ring.

“What did you tell him?” Dean asked, not bothering with a greeting.

“Who?”

“Cas… What the fuck did you tell him?”

Dean heard his friend take a sharp intake of breath. “Damn… What did he do?”

“For all I know, he got drunk and has been imagining stuff about Nick and me. What the hell did you tell him?”

“Shit! Cas, you idiot!” Charlie yelled in the phone even though she knew he couldn’t hear her. “Look, we had lunch and then I said something about Nick and then… he didn’t know who I was talking about. Like, at all. Did you ever mention him?”

“Of course I did.”

“Are you sure?”

This time, Dean took a second before answering. He tried to think back to the previous months but found he couldn’t pinpoint a specific time where he might have mentioned his new colleague.

“Well, it’s not like it’s important. I must have talked about him, just can’t say when.”

“I’m sorry. I told him to talk to you and not get all weird over this. Maybe I should have accepted his dinner invitation. I could have at least helped keeping him out of trouble.”

“Don’t worry about it, Charlie. It’s not the first time I find him like this.”

“Stop speaking as if I’m not there…” Castiel mumbled, making Dean roll his eyes.

“Sober up and then I’ll be able to speak to you,” Dean replied before going back to Charlie. “Look, I just needed to know what you told him. Not that I thought you’d be saying me and Nick were fucking or anything.”

“I’d never say this. Unless it was true and you refused to tell him yourself that is. You better not be, huh?”

“Of course I’m not. Who do you take me for?”

“Well… you do have quite the reputation.”

“I know, I know… Look, I’ll go take care of my idiot boyfriend now. And you, you’re doing okay?”

“Yeah… nothing an entire sheet of chocolate cookies and a Harry Potter marathon can’t fix.”

“All right, then. See you Monday, Charlie.”

“See ya!”

Instead of going back to sit on the sofa, Dean went into the kitchen to find an intact delivery pizza box on the counter. “Babe, you hungry?” he asked, finding the pie had cooled down significantly. “Want some of that pizza?” he said again as he dropped it in the oven.

“I’m not hungry. But I’m angry,” Castiel said from behind him before giggling. “See what I did there?”

“Yeah… that’s hilarious,” Dean said if only to placate Cas. “Look, I’m pretty sure I mentioned Nick before but if I really didn’t, then I’m sorry.”

Giving him a weak shrug, Castiel came to stand closer. “No, I get it, I really do,” he declared, poking at Dean’s chest. “You’re libidinous. Promiscuous. A real horndog.”

“I won’t deny it, I do love sex. But you know what I love more? You.”

“Aww! That would be so sweet if you weren’t such a liar.”

The little composure Dean had been able to keep up crumbled. Still, he was able to fake it long enough to warn Castiel. “You better get outta my face, Cas. I mean it.”

“Truth hurts, don’t it?”

“I can’t talk to you like this. Go to bed!”

“You go to bed! I’m not done being drunk just yet.”

Dean’s movements were stiff as he grabbed the bottle from his boyfriend’s hand and pressed him towards their bedroom. After pushing Cas down on the bed, Dean grabbed himself a pillow and blanket.

“What are you doing?” Castiel asked, bleary eyed.

“I’m spending the night on the couch. Just… sober the fuck up, would you?”

 

~ • ~

 

Waking up with a hangover hadn’t been in Castiel’s plans that weekend. As hadn’t been waking up alone. “Dean?” Castiel called, intrigued by the absence of his boyfriend so early on a Saturday morning.

He didn’t get an answer but he heard noise in the kitchen, cooking noises. There also seemed to be some sort of conversation going on between two men. Castiel recognized Dean as being one of them.

“Babe?” Castiel called again, this time so loud it made his own head hurt.

A second later, Dean walked into the bedroom. He put down a cup of coffee and a bottle of acetaminophen on the side table. “Take a couple of these… and you might wanna take a shower or something. You smell like a bar and we’ve got company,” he said in an even tone, leaving before Cas could utter a single word.

Castiel obeyed, downing four tablets with the coffee. As he did, he tried to remember what had happened the night before, without much success. The last thing he remembered was how Dean had come home much later than expected and how Cas had started giving him shit about it.

Seeing how Dean’s pillow wasn’t in their bed still gave Cas a clue as to how things might have gone. He got up, still feeling a little drunk, and went over to the dresser to grab the most comfortable clothes he could find and disappeared in the bathroom.

Fifteen minutes later, Castiel walked into the kitchen to find Dean chatting up some guy he’d never seen before. Both men were smiling when they turned to Cas but Dean’s smile falter a bit when their eyes met.

“Doing better?,” Dean asked, his tone a bit on the frosty side. Vastly different from how he was acting just before.

“Yeah…” Castiel answered, keeping his eyes on the handsome stranger. Before Dean could even introduce him, Cas knew who he was. “Nick Munroe, I presume?”

“Guilty,” the man said, his own smile almost blinding. “And you’re Cas! Heard a whole lot about you, man.”

“Wish I could say the same,” the smaller man said as he went to refill his cup.

“Cas,” he heard Dean warn him in a growl. “Thought you said you were doing better.”

“I am, as far as the hangover goes. You still hid the fact that you were working with a really handsome guy.”

“Fuck, Cas! We’re not sleeping together, all right? It’s like… jesus, it’d be like fucking my own brother!”

“I hear ya,” Nick said as he raised his own coffee in agreement. “Not that you’re not nice and all – like, you’re awesome – but guys really don’t do shit for me,” he explained before erupting in laughter.

“They don’t?” This time, Castiel’s question had been addressed to Dean. “Why didn’t you tell me about him then? Why is it the first time we ever meet if you weren’t hiding him from me?”

“Come on, babe! How much do we even talk about work?”

“Well… we try not to do it too much but– ”

“Exactly! Like I said, I must have mentioned him at some point, but it was probably so random that you just didn’t pick up on it. Wouldn’t you be even more worried if I just kept talking about the guy?”

Castiel shrugged then went to sit next to their guest. “Maybe…”

Nick made sure to catch Castiel’s eye before talking. “I swear, man. There’s no way I’d ever hit on this doofus even if I was into guys.”

“Hey now, be nice!” Dean objected, falsely insulted.

Ignoring his colleague, the newcomer continued. “Like, I wasn’t lying when I compared him to a brother. We just get along, we like the same stuff. You know, rock music, muscle cars, and pretty girls.” The suspicious look Cas gave Nick at that last one made him laugh again. “I mean, we like talking about pretty girls, but that’s all. He’s too gone on you, man. I’d never have a chance in hell.”

“So what…? He asked you to come over and plead his case for him?”

Before Nick could even attempt answering, Dean grabbed at Castiel, pivoting the stool so they faced each other. “Cas, don’t be so dense, all right? I invited Nick because I wanted you guys to meet. I should have done that ages ago, but I just never thought about it. I imagined you’d cross paths eventually, like at the office or during some social event. I wasn’t hiding him, okay?”

“But– ”

“But nothing. I know you think I’m some kind of serial cheater because of that whole Lisa thing, but I’m not. I swore I’d tell you if I ever thought we should end it.”

“Who says you’ll really do it?”

“I do,” Dean said as he took out a box from his jean pocket. “I was to give you this on our third anniversary next month but I thought now would be a much better time.”

With his mouth hanging out, Castiel was transfixed by the tiny wooden box. Of course Dean would think asking for his hand now would be a good idea.

“Dean, I… what?”

The taller man opened the box to show the brushed titanium ring nested inside. “Castiel, had I listened to myself, I would have asked you to marry me the second we got back together. Even if I had no ring to give you.”

“But you weren’t free.”

“But I wasn’t free. Still, every day since I’ve dreamed about marrying you.”

Despite himself, Cas felt his anger melt with every thud of his racing heart. His voice had gone soft when he asked “Why did you wait so long?”.

“Because I didn’t think you’d say yes. I know you’re worried I’ll betray you, but I swear I won’t. This is my ultimate attempt at proving you how serious I am about this thing between us. You’re my forever, Cas.”

“Hey, guys,” Nick tried to intervene when his eyes caught on the smoke coming from the stove. Without much success.

“You’ve always been mine, Dean.”

“I know, and I hate to have taken so long to get with the program.”

“Guys,” Nick said again, louder this time. When neither of them moved, he got up to turn off the burner and move the pan. “You idiots are gonna burn the whole place down,” he muttered while serving himself with some of the overcooked omelet. He added some bacon to his plate and brought it out to the living room.

“But you get why I’m worried, right?” Cas had been saying, oblivious to their guest moving around them.

“I know. But I wish that after three years you’d stop doubting me. Don’t you know I adore you? That I would never betray you?”

“I want to believe it, Dean. So much… but us together, it’s never been… you know…”

“Cas, we were never together like we are now. There’s no real reason for you to doubt how sincere I am.” Casting his head down, Dean put down the box on the counter. “I’ll take your silence as a need to think things over, all right?”

“Dean– ”

“I’ll get out of your hair, let you process it all.” When he looked back at Cas, Dean’s eyes were brimming with tears. “I won’t lie, I hoped it would go differently.” He chuckled. “Kind of imagined it’d be like the movies, you know? You bursting into tears and jumping on me with your arms around my neck. But I’ve always been a little slow in the head and– ”

“Dean, just shut up, would you?” Castiel said, his own eyes just as watery. “This,” he pointed to the ring box, “is something I never thought would happen to me. And especially not with you.” Soon, the tears were set free. “I’ve loved you for so long. And I’ve hated you just as much at times. I’m not hesitating, I’m just… I’m terrified.”

“I intend on making it up to you for the rest of my life, okay? I promise I will.”

With a smile, Castiel nodded, then gave his answer under his breath so only Dean could hear.

“All right… I’ll marry you.”

This time, it was Dean’s turn to start crying. He took Castiel in his arms, hiding his face in his fiancé’s neck. “I love you,” he mumbled, his lips hot on Cas’ skin.

Castiel’s replicating answer came with both his hands cradling Dean’s face, guiding him into a fiery kiss. They were soon dropping down to the floor behind the counter. As the world around them vanished, neither of them noticed when Nick let himself out the front door, a satisfied smirk on his lips.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> So… this is the very end guys, the happy ending I promised long ago. I could go on if I chose too, but I think that the ultimate goal of this whole story has been achieved.
> 
> I think I prefer to let the boys go on without me. I’ve been pretty mean to them during this whole journey so they deserve a bit of a break, don’t you think? I myself choose to believe that they’re together for the long haul, they won’t break up ever again and will probably actually get married at some point (in 2015 maybe?). Maybe they’ll have kids. Maybe they’ll move back to Sioux Falls.
> 
> But I’m giving them back their universe. I won’t interfere anymore! ;)
> 
> I can only hope you liked it and that the end was somewhat satisfying.
> 
> Please don’t hesitate to leave comments and thank you for reading even though I know it must have been quite frustrating at times! Only kinda sorry about that! ;) 
> 
> And if you wanna say hi, you can find me on [Tumblr](http://marmeladyorange.tumblr.com).
> 
>  
> 
> P.S.: This wasn’t beta'd so all mistakes are mine. Unlike the characters of the story.


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